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How to Meet Gwynian in The Cauldron of Fear
For meeting Gwynian the Sage in The Cauldron of Fear there's plenty of good news and bad news. The good news is that you will have plenty of chances of meeting him. The bad news is that they all involve getting arrested. The "good" news is that you will have several chances of getting arrested. The bad news is that if you have certain Magnakai Disciplines you automatically break out of jail and run the risk of not meeting Gwynian. The good news is that you will still have several chances of being arrested again! I. Getting Arrested Inevitably, about one-fourth of your way through the book, you will find yourself on Section 100 where you have just entered the South Gate of Tahou. A. The South Gate At the gate, you will be questioned by some highly suspicious guards. 1. Honesty is the Best Policy to Get Arrested The quickest way to get arrested is to just tell the truth: *Say that you intend to enter the Tahou Cauldron (60) They won't believe you and you'll be arrested. The book gives the option to try to escape, but it won't matter. You'll still go to the Tahou jail in Section 134 (see Section C below). 2. Questioned About the Cauldron There's another way to get arrested here. If you: * tell the guards that you have come to offer your services in the defence of the city (196) ** and you do not possess the Magnakai Discipline of Invisibility (109) The guards will ask you which district can the Cauldron be found. You can either: * answer, ‘The North District’ (26) * answer, ‘The South District’ (65) * answer, ‘The East District’ (178) or * give no answer at all (333) Because these are all wrong answers (the guards will treat "no answer at all" as a wrong answer) the guards will arrest you and throw you into jail in Section 134 (see Section C below). B. The Eating House If you: * have an Invitation and wish to show it (321) or: * tell the guards that you have come to offer your services in the defence of the city (196) ** and you possess the Magnakai Discipline of Invisibility (42) Or even if you: * tell the guards that you have come to offer your services in the defence of the city (196) ** do not posses the Magnakai Discipline of Invisibility (109) *** and you answer, ‘The West District’ (255) then the guards will let you through. In which case your only opportunity left to get arrested will be at the eating house. As you and Banedon walk towards Chiban's house, he'll point out the eating house and you're both hungry. * Enter the eating house (80) Don't keep going to Chiban's house. If you want to see Gwynian in this book, Chiban at this point is your archenemy. He'll say and do everything Gwynian would've said and done without the bonus of being a Recurring Character. You'll get to meet Chiban later on in the book anyway, so meeting Gwynian is more satisfying. In the eating house, you will sit at a table with some drunken mercenaries. You'll be given some options, but no matter what you do, you'll wind up in combat with them, that they start because they're jerks. You'll be given the option to evade, but be a man! Fight these drunken louts to the death! If you win, you'll be arrested and taken to jail in Section 134 (see Section C below). C. At the Jail Once you're in jail, as long as: * you possess neither the Magnakai Discipline of Nexus nor the Magnakai Discipline of Psi-Surge with the Kai Rank of Primate or higher (227) you're home free. That is you rot in jail until taken to trial where you'll be judged by the magistrate, who'll turn out to be none other than your old pal Gwynian, who'll instantly spring you. II. What To Do If You Break Out But alas and alack! If you do have either: * the Magnakai Discipline of Nexus (202) or * the Magnakai Discipline of Psi-surge and have reached the Kai rank of Primate or higher (47) you will automatically break out of jail and run the risk of not meeting Gwynian in this book. But don't be too alarmed. You'll have several opportunities to be arrested yet again. A. The First Opportunity Inevitably you'll find yourself in Numbered Section 248 where you and another escaped prisoner, a thief named Sogh, are creeping towards a storeroom containing most of your equipment that's guarded by a single soldier. The soldier will spot you and attempt to cry out. If you don't have both the Magnakai Discipline of Psi-Surge and the Rank of Principalin you can either: * attack him with your sword (3) ** and kill him in a combat that lasts longer than three rounds (276) or * throw your dagger at him (215) ** and pick a number from the Random Number Table that ends up being 6 or less (287) a patrol of soldiers will show up and the sergeant of the patrol will demand your surrender. * Raise your hands in surrender (267) and you'll go back to jail where your reunion with Gwynian is assured. B. The Ways To Pass Up This Opportunity But if when that one soldier sees you: * you have the Magnakai Discipline of Psi-surge and have reached the rank of Principalin (84) or * you attack him with your sword (3) ** and kill him in three rounds of combat or less (117) or * you throw your dagger at him (215) ** and pick a number from the Random Number Table that ends up being 7 or more (117) or even if: * you attack him with your sword (3) ** and kill him in a combat that lasts longer than three rounds (276) or * you throw your dagger at him (215) ** and pick a number from the Random Number Table that ends up being 6 or less (287) and when the patrol of soldiers shows up and the sergeant among them orders your surrender: * you choose to defy his order (95) ** and pick a number from the Random Number Table that ends up being either *** 4-8 (309) *** or 9 or more (238) and fight the patrol in combat and win (177) you will inevitably find yourself in the Numbered Section 139 where you and Sogh make it outside the jailhouse and part ways. C. Two Important Notes Before You Continue There are still a myriad of ways you can still meet Gwynian. To simplify this page here are two notes to keep in mind from here on: 1. Surrender Or Die Remember how you could defy the sergeant's order to surrender in that last section? That's the last time you can afford to reject that option if the book provides it. From here on you must surrender if the book offers that option. If you don't, not only will you not meet Gwynian, you won't survive the book. You'll be instantly killed. Your life and your quest will end there. Just remember, surrender if you are given that option. 2. The Two Numbered Sections To Choose As Soon As You See Them There are two Numbered Sections that show up several times during this part of the book that will make meeting Gwynian all but inevitable. The first is Section 278. If you choose that section, you'll run straight into some jail guards who recognize you as the escaped prisoner. Surrender to them, (Remember: Surrender Or Die) and you'll go back to jail, all set to meet Gwynian. The other Numbered Section to head towards is Section 250. You will have many options after picking that section, but all of them lead to meeting Gwynian or dying (remember the "Surrender Or Die" rule). There's even a way of meeting Gwynian without having to go through the embarrassment of getting re-arrested. It will even make surviving the final combat of this book a bit easier if you normally possess the Sommerswerd. However, this page is solely concerned with meeting Gwynian. For that purpose, all you need to know is that once you pick Section 250, you'll meet him (or die; always remember: Surrender or Die). D. Going to Rescue Banedon In Section 139, just before you part ways, Sogh tells you that Banedon is being held at the Eastgate Barracks. * make your way to the Eastgate Barracks (23) You'll find yourself at a junction that splits into three roads. * If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Pathsmanship (337) It will tell you to go down Eastwall Lane, going to that glorious Section 250. If you don't have Pathsmanship, you can either: * head north into Brooker Court (158) or * go east into Eastwall Lane (250) or * turn west into Varta Ride (278) You can decide for yourself which of the two Sections, 250 or 278, you want to go to. 278 is quicker, 250 makes meeting Gwynian all but inevitable. If you go down Brooker Court, you will still have several chances of meeting Gwynian, it's just that all of your options will be the same as if you'd initially gone to find Chiban (see Section E below). E. Going To Find Chiban If, when you were left alone at Section 139 you: * decide to seek the help of Chiban the Magician, Banedon’s former teacher (221) or if you: * make your way to the Eastgate Barracks (23) ** and you head north into Brooker Court (158) all is not lost. You still have a few chances to meet Gwynian instead. 1. The Pickpocket As you head towards Brooker Court along a tavern alley, you will bump into a pickpocket who'll steal one of your Special Items. * If you do not possess either of the Magnakai Disciplines of Divination or Huntmastery (273) ** you choose to run back to the tavern alley and chase after the pickpocket (94) *** and you do not possess a Kalte Firesphere, a Torch and Tinderbox, or a Lantern or you choose not to use them (311) You will come across a boarded up building with a door ajar. * Ignore it and enter the street ahead (278) and your reunion with Gwynian is assured. (Surrender or Die). But if you: * have the Magnakai Discipline of Divination or Huntmastery (201) or * you do not possess either of these skills (273) ** you choose to run back to the tavern alley and chase after the pickpocket (94) *** and you do possess a Kalte Firesphere, a Torch and Tinderbox, or a Lantern (194) you'll be able to track the pickpocket to the building and kill him in combat. If you win, you retrieve your stolen Special Item and a bottle of blue pills. If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Curing, you'll know what these blue pills are. Either way, you can either go back to Brooker Court or you can: * continue along the alley instead (278) and get to (Surrender Or Die) meet Gwynian again. 2. Brooker Court You are given several chances of giving up on chasing the pickpocket. If you do so, or even if you find and kill him, retrieve your stolen Special Item, and decide to head back to Brooker Court, you'll find yourself on a three-way junction. You can either: * head south into Southgate (278) or * go west into Rainbow Lane (245) Don't go north into Lamp Street. If you do, you'll find Chiban, and your chance of meeting Gwynian in this book will be lost. Going to Southgate (278, Surrender Or Die) is, of course, the quickest way to meet Gwynian. But if you go to Rainbow Lane, you'll still have one last chance of meeting him. As you go down Rainbow Lane, you'll notice a public park with a gate guarded by a couple of soldiers. * continue along Rainbow Lane without stopping (288) You'll run into a patrol of jail guards (Surrender or Die) * surrender to this patrol (344) and you'll be safe back in jail, ready to meet Gwynian. But don't talk to those soldiers guarding the public park. Unlike all the other Tahouese soldiers you've met so far, these soldiers will be friendly and helpful, and will lead you straight to Chiban, where your last chance of meeting Gwynian in this book will be lost forever. In short, there are an awful lot of ways of meeting Gwynian in this book...interspersed with a few ways of missing him altogether.